Softbank Arm Invests in Thai Video Game Firm Ini3 Digital

SoftBank Ventures Korea, an arm of Japanese telecommunications and Internet company SoftBank, has taken a 23% stake in Thai online video game operator Ini3 Digital, the Bangkok-based firm said Tuesday.

Reuters

Financial terms weren’t disclosed.

The Korean venture capital firm’s chief operating officer and partner, Daniel Kang, will join Ini3’s board, according to Adrian Stewart, Ini3’s vice president of business development.

He noted that the ten-year-old company, which specializes in localizing popular games from markets like South Korea, China, and Japan, will first turn to Vietnam, where it hopes to begin operations within two months. Stewart said Ini3 is among Thailand’s three largest online games operators.

A representative at Softbank Ventures Korea wasn’t immediately available for comment.

Led by Internet mogul and billionaire Masayoshi Son, SoftBank has been pursuing investments in Internet firms around the world, especially in Asia, where Son hopes to solidify his empire, which already includes the top stake in Yahoo Japan and a 36.7% stake in Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group. Bankers say a listing of Alibaba would be one of the largest initial public offerings by an Internet company.

Through its investment arms, such as SoftBank Ventures Korea, and through Son’s younger brother and venture capitalist Taizo Son, SoftBank has been extending its sights to include gaming companies. Last year, SoftBank took a controlling stake in Finnish mobile games company and developer of “Clash of Clans” hit Supercell, and raised its stake in Japanese hit game “Puzzle&Dragons” developer GungHo Online Entertainment.

SoftBank, which acquired U.S. wireless carrier Sprint in a near $22 billion deal in July last year, is hungry for games, music, and other content that will help distinguish its mobile Internet services from the competition. SoftBank Ventures Korea has also invested in Seoul-based VCNC, the developer of popular couples app “Between.”

This is not SoftBank Ventures Korea’s first foray into Southeast Asia. Indonesian e-commerce platform Tokopedia in June 2013 said it had received funding from the company, without specifying the size of the investment.